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STAT SHEET STUFFERS
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 Six was the magic number as Andre Iguodala made six treys in the Sixers' sixth straight win, a 121-115 victory over the Raptors. Iguodala made 8-of-11 shots from the floor for a career-high 26 points and added 10 rebounds, three assists and a steal.
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RICK KAMLA'S FANTASY TAKE
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 Kobe Bryant's finger is feeling better, eh? After averaging 17.5 points on 31 percent shooting in his previous two games, Kobe exploded for a season-high 42 against the Knicks.
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GAME OF THE NIGHT
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Theo Ratliff dunked home a follow of Sebastian Telfair's missed layup with nine seconds left to give the Trail Blazers a lead they would not relinquish in a 96-93 win over the Bulls on Wednesday. Chicago, in the middle of a long annual November road trip, was down by nine points entering the fourth quarter. The Bulls fought back and led by one after Kirk Hinrich hit a runner with 15 ticks left, but could not reply to Ratliff's dunk and took a tough loss.
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QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
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 "I couldn't have done this without my teammates. They are the ones that set the screens for me and get me the ball and that is all the teammates I've had in 10 years. It's
kind of a tribute to those guys and coaches I've had that
believed in me."
- Philadelphia guard Allen Iverson on reaching the 17,000-point plateau in the Sixers' win over the Raptors.
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STORYLINES OF THE NIGHT
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  1. Chess Match
Lakers head coach Phil Jackson got the best of Knicks counterpart Larry Brown as Los Angeles secured a 97-92 win over New York on Wednesday. The last time the two superstar coaches faced off, Brown's Pistons were celebrating an NBA championship after defeating Jackson's Lakers in five games.
 2. Suns' Home Not So Sweet?
With their 115-103 loss to the Grizzlies on Wednesday, the Suns are now 3-4 on the young season with all four losses coming at home. A year ago, Phoenix got off to a torrid start and didn't lose its fourth game until Dec. 28, and their fourth defeat at America West Arena didn't come until Jan. 21.
 3. How the West Was Won
Despite sporting a solid 4-2 record coming in to Wednesday's action, the Bucks had a serious losing streak staring back at them. Milwaukee broke a 17-game skid in road games against Western Conference opponents with a 90-87 win at Golden State. The streak dated back to March 2004, meaning that the Bucks had gone through all of the 2004-05 campaign without winning a game hosted by any of the 15 Western Conference teams.
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ROOKIE WATCH
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 Charlotte's Raymond Felton got a chance to shine against Indiana as regular starting point guard Brevin Knight sat out with knee tendinitis. In his first start, the fifth overall pick set or tied season bests in points (18), assists (10), rebounds (5), steals (5) and minutes (36) while blocking his first shot.
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UPSET OF THE NIGHT
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 The Indiana Pacers are widely considered to be contenders, but it was the Bobcats who looked like the playoff team when they notched a 122-90 home win on Wednesday. The second-year franchise set team records in points (122), margin of victory (32) and made 3-pointers (11). Six of those treys came from Kareem Rush as part of his career-high 35 points, and Emeka Okafor added 20 and 12 rebounds.
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SCOREBOARD: Nov. 16, 2005 |
AROUND THE ASSOCIATION ARCHIVE
